Medjugorje Impression

If this article were a fairy tale, it would start "once upon a time ....." but this article would be a very nasty fairy tale about the place where beliefs do business, and before that, everyone is closing their eyes.

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Medjugorje - a pilgrimage site in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina known worldwide, visited annually by tens of thousands of believers in the hope that… .. I do not know what their expectations are, but this place disappointed me. When we arrived in Bosnia, I did not plan to visit this place, nor did I ever plan to do so. Since we wandered in the vicinity and the long-distance signal highlighted this place, so we did it.

To Medjugorje there is a classic local road through several villages. The villages here look like normal villages. There are many beautiful natural sceneries. Certainly I also recommend Bosnian countryside. After passing through the village of Prćavci, the road began to rise and gradually began to disappear as the altitude increased.

At the end, we rolled down the broken asphalt road, which had seen the repair for the last time in Aleksander I Kardjordjević¹period which is a long time ago. At the end of this "Karadjordjević Road" we were surprised to find a digger in the world. „Bogami, ma ovdje nema ni muhe“² complained the car crew. The world ended behind this excavator. Literally. The road was transformed into a dusty pathway, around dry, rocks, scrub and grave silence, outside about 45, and within walking distance. We would like to meet a man there a lot, but there were no trees that accompanied us until then and there were no flies.

Even the "a la Balkan" electric poles were missed, ie a tangled cable on a wooden pole that never killed anyone in the Balkans, only strangers are unnecessarily frightened of it and the locals only comment on "Ma šta? Normalna struja ... Šta se čudite?“³ On this road, everything left us ... even the last hope. We were just praying that the car wouldn't break down here.

If anyone ever wonders what the end of the world looks like, go on a road to the village of Prčavci. Communication number will be provided on request. After a few minutes of rolling through this wilderness, we would be delighted with the minefield. Unfortunately, we did not see nor it.

Finally, we do not even know how, on the horizon, there appeared a kuća⁴ and another kuća followed. Then we understood that this place must be sacred. Gradually, the spikes multiplied and we more and more cheered with joy. Once again, the road miraculously transformed into a normal level asphalt road. It brought us to the crossroads and it started there ... Pansion kod Djevice Marije, sladoled djevica marija, restoran kod djevice ....⁵ boulevard, which was not far from the boulevards in American movies, which we dreamed of as children just everything on it revolved around the local star "Djevice Marije", the Virgin Mary.

To be honest, she's pretty girl and the street is full of her. You won't find so many portraits of one and the same biblical character anywhere in the world. You can buy her in the form of postcards, pillows, bags, t-shirts, glasses, blouses, ring, vases and I do not know anything else. She's everywhere and everyone wants her. If Djevica had once asked the government of Bosnia Herzegovina to pay her the copyright for all those images, she would have become the richest person in the world in that moment. Stop the irony.

At the end of this performance one žuta crkva was standing⁶. In front of her counsel for worship, which was repeated every hour. Behind this church there was a stage and auditorium, where the Pope also spoke. From this point, several routes led to the surrounding mountains (understand the dried up rocks full of cloaks).

The groups went in droves because everyone wanted to see the place where Virgin Mary appeared seven times in 1981. „Čime su ti vjernici toliko očarani?“⁷ we asked, and certainly the local ones. In fact, it seemed that those who normally walk with crutches cheerfully forgot all their problems.

It is only proof that 80% of each disease is the patient's mental state. Heartbrokers suddenly forgot about bypasses, defibrillators and similar devices that kept them alive and at 40 degrees had no difficulty in handling any hiking along the arid Bosnian rocks, some also barefoot. Medjugorje, how magical you are!

The best was confessional, located to the right of the church. There are about 25 of them. In addition to the prosaic inscription "Tenete silentium"⁸ there are also inscriptions such as "hrvatski, english, italiano, deutsch" on the individual confessional. How willing the Bosnians are when they meet foreigners ....

A little bit further there is a sign "BAM, HRK, EUR, USD". If you don't have a local currency, it's not problem at all. Whoever wants to pay he will pay. How much I don't know, but looking at this whole nonsens, I just wondered, “What is faith? Does it even exist? ”

I felt sad. The whole world is crazy for attractions of this type in the hope of being here and they will solve all their problems and everything will be forgiven. Two bags with torbica, novčanik, knjige, razglednice, kipovi, majice and kišobrane with Djevica Marija⁹ will give people the feeling that hope exists and that their lives will be better. They all return to their homes with a smile and full of energy. It is a pity to think about them if they know and follow the Bible and understand it.

For the most part it is enough to visit such Disneyland of Virgin Mary and they feel saved. Ultimately, however, year after year, only the Bosnian economy and all those who benefit from a local superstar are the only ones saved. People have forgotten what the Bible teaches, but if you go to Medjugorje, try not to be pulled down by the crowd and enjoy the magic and unearthly atmosphere that faith alone gives to you, regardless of others.